I and My Chimneyby Herman MelvilleI and my chimney, two grey-headed old smokers, reside in thecountry. We are, I may say, old settlers here; particularly myold chimney, which settles more and more every day.Though I always say, I AND MY CHIMNEY, as Cardinal Wolsey used tosay, "I AND MY KING," yet this egotistic way of speaking, whereinI take precedence of my chimney, is hereby borne out by thefacts; in everything, except the above phrase, my chimney takingprecedence of me.Within thirty feet of the turf-sided road, my chimneya huge,corpulent old Harry VIII of a chimneyrises full in front of meand all my possessions. Standing well up a hillside, my chimney,...
400 BCON REGIMEN IN ACUTE DISEASESby HippocratesTranslated by Francis AdamsTHOSE who composed what are called "The Cnidian Sentences" havedescribed accurately what symptoms the sick experience in everydisease, and how certain of them terminate; and in so far a man,even who is not a physician, might describe them correctly, providedhe put the proper inquiries to the sick themselves what theircomplaints are. But those symptoms which the physician ought to knowbeforehand without being informed of them by the patient, are, for the...
THE HEADLESS DWARFSThere was once a minister who spent his whole time in trying tofind a servant who would undertake to ring the church bells atmidnight, in addition to all his other duties.Of course it was not everyone who cared to get up in the middleof the night, when he had been working hard all day; still, agood many had agreed to do it. But the strange thing was that nosooner had the servant set forth to perform his task than hedisappeared, as if the earth had swallowed him up. No bells wererung, and no ringer ever came back. The minister did his best tokeep the matter secret, but it leaked out for all that, and theend of it was that no one would enter his service. Indeed, there..
Flying Machines: Construction and OperationW.J. Jackman and Thos. H. RussellA Practical Book Which Shows, in Illustrations,Working Plans and Text, How to Build and Navigate theModern Airship.ByW.J. Jackman, M.E.,Author of "A B C of the Motorcycle,""Facts for Motorists," etc. etc.ANDTHOS. H. RUSSELL, A.M., M.E.,Charter Member of the Aero Club of Illinois, Author of"History of the Automobile," "Motor Boats: Constructionand Operation," etc. etc.WITH INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER BYOCTAVE CHANUTE, C.E.,President Aero Club of Illinois1912PREFACE.This book is written for the guidance of the novice in...
FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENIN A THOUSAND YEARSby Hans Christian AndersenYES, in a thousand years people will fly on the wings of steamthrough the air, over the ocean! The young inhabitants of America willbecome visitors of old Europe. They will come over to see themonuments and the great cities, which will then be in ruins, just aswe in our time make pilgrimages to the tottering splendors of SouthernAsia. In a thousand years they will come!The Thames, the Danube, and the Rhine still roll their course,Mont Blanc stands firm with its snow-capped summit, and the Northern...
THE WITCH AND HER SERVANTS[22][22] From the Russian. Kletke.Long time ago there lived a King who had three sons; the eldestwas called Szabo, the second Warza, and the youngest Iwanich.One beautiful spring morning the King was walking through hisgardens with these three sons, gazing with admiration at thevarious fruit-trees, some of which were a mass of blossom, whilstothers were bowed to the ground laden with rich fruit. Duringtheir wanderings they came unperceived on a piece of waste landwhere three splendid trees grew. The King looked on them for amoment, and then, shaking his head sadly, he passed on insilence.The sons, who could not understand why he did this, asked him the...
Lectures XIV and XVTHE VALUE OF SAINTLINESSWe have now passed in review the more important of the phenomenawhich are regarded as fruits of genuine religion andcharacteristics of men who are devout. Today we have to changeour attitude from that of description to that of appreciation; wehave to ask whether the fruits in question can help us to judgethe absolute value of what religion adds to human life. Were Ito parody Kant, I should say that a "Critique of pureSaintliness" must be our theme.If, in turning to this theme, we could descend upon our subjectfrom above like Catholic theologians, with our fixed definitions...
BROWN OF CALAVERASA subdued tone of conversation, and the absence of cigar smoke andboot heels at the windows of the Wingdam stagecoach, made itevident that one of the inside passengers was a woman. Adisposition on the part of loungers at the stations to congregatebefore the window, and some concern in regard to the appearance ofcoats, hats, and collars, further indicated that she was lovely.All of which Mr. Jack Hamlin, on the box seat, noted with the smileof cynical philosophy. Not that he depreciated the sex, but thathe recognized therein a deceitful element, the pursuit of whichsometimes drew mankind away from the equally uncertain...
Royalty Restored or London under Charles II.by J. Fitzgerald MolloyTO THOMAS HARDY, ESQ.DEAR MR. HARDY,In common with all readers of the English language, I owe you adebt of gratitude, the which I rejoice to acknowledge, even in sopoor a manner as by dedicating this work to you.Believe me,Faithfully yours always, J. FITZGERALD MOLLOY.*PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.No social history of the court of Charles II. has heretofore been written. The Grammont Memoirs, devoid of date and detail, and addressed "to those who read only for amusement," present but brief imperfect sketches of the wits and beauties who thronged the court of the merry monarch whilst the brilliant Frenchman sojourned in Eng
had nothing left but his mill and a large apple-tree behindit. Once when he had gone into the forest to fetch wood, anold man stepped up to him whom he had never seen before, andsaid, why do you plague yourself with cutting wood, I willmake you rich, if you will promise me what is standing behindyour mill. What can that be but my apple-tree, thought themiller, and said, yes, and gave a written promise to thestranger. He, however, laughed mockingly and said, when threeyears have passed, I will come and carry away what belongs to me,and then he went. When the miller got home, his wife came tomeet him and said, tell me, miller, from whence comes thissudden wealth into our house. All at on
The Vicar of Toursby Honore de BalzacTranslated by Katharine Prescott WormeleyDEDICATIONTo David, Sculptor:The permanence of the work on which I inscribe your nametwice made illustrious in this centuryis very problematical;whereas you have graven mine in bronze which survives nationsif only in their coins. The day may come when numismatists,discovering amid the ashes of Paris existences perpetuated byyou, will wonder at the number of heads crowned in youratelier and endeavour to find in them new dynasties.To you, this divine privilege; to me, gratitude.De Balzac.THE VICAR OF TOURS...
The Angel and the Author and othersby Jerome K. JeromeCHAPTER II had a vexing dream one night, not long ago: it was about afortnight after Christmas. I dreamt I flew out of the window in mynightshirt. I went up and up. I was glad that I was going up."They have been noticing me," I thought to myself. "If anything, Ihave been a bit too good. A little less virtue and I might havelived longer. But one cannot have everything." The world grewsmaller and smaller. The last I saw of London was the long line ofelectric lamps bordering the Embankment; later nothing remained but afaint luminosity buried beneath darkness. It was at this point of my...